Back in 2004, when I was writing and editing my very first publication in Dutch (Title in English would have been: Handbook for the future Market leader) I introduced the 5K method or “the five keys to business success in the 21ste century. People asked me why I publish my book in Dutch and not directly in English for the global market? Good question.

Most business models came from the United States with very well known guru’s that made name with their publications. The universal business truth was often directly made synonym to the USA. It is a huge country with obvious post war business successes that had conquered the world. What had a small Dutchman to add to all this wisdom? Why would anyone accept a business theory coming from the lowlands of Europa that had known the golden age back in times of East Indies?

That was one of reasons why I was not too keen on addressing the world market immediately. Who would care?

The other reason was that I got insight and awareness on what I had to mention after returning to Holland with my family after 27 years of absence. The culture shock was tremendous as well as my amazement how my original country of birth had changed. The warmth that I had felt back in the early 70’s had totally disappeared. Instead I found a cold, materialistic culture of complaining people with a heavy, very authoritive and bureaucratic government that even ruled on the amount of balls you could have in your soup so to say.

So writing my book and looking for solutions I had a look first at Holland. The fact that all this coldness had cost me my second marriage and left me to take care of my two small children also helped to concentrate on anything but the chance to have to travel. Whatever happened I simply wanted to be home to take care of my daughters when school was out.

Gradually I got to understand that the issue that I was addressing was not simply a Dutch one but involved the entire world, the entire human species.

When in 2008 the credit crisis struck I had already critically analysed various business sectors s.a. banking, supermarkets and garbage collection. It became clear to me that simple consultancy work as an author would get me seated with powerful people with the advise to do something about it. These people would maybe listen to me but hardly pay to hear that they had to change mentality and the way they do business. These people would want to hear how they could get back to old profitability again as fast as possible. And that insight I could not provide to them.

It became clear to me that I had to address the Global Shift issue by taking responsibility myself. I started the STIR Foundation (STIR = Sustainability, Transformation, Indexation and Research) together with a friend from Belgium. It became an ordeal to find our way into developing awareness and enlightenment into true value based concepts and organizations. Belgium and Holland were totally different and soon my partner decided to refocus.

Only after two years and a lot of experimentation, tough decisions, differences in insight between people, struggles etc we got to the very first true results. We realised that true progress could only be made if we created environments where all disciplines for change would commit together. Having said that we also recognized the gigantic burden we had to deal with. How to get people with different agendas en priorities to work together on a specific higher purpose?

I realized that we were not to invent a system for global change but unite a diversity of people who would voluntarily offer their expertise and scope of professional responsibility to sit together and develop a joint purpose. It became clear that this could only be done by adding an independent, purpose driven environment where the encounters could take place. We created the basis for local STIR cooperations, first nearby in my home town.

My girls have grown up in the meantime, my freedom has grown to travel more but also my expertise on how to get things done in an extremely complex transformative environment. It cannot be done anywhere. It requires the lucky situation of people with a particular mentality and desire to make a difference. It requires the unique situation of finding such people in eachother’s vicinity and with enough authority and diversity to make it happen.

The world has become conscious also now that things need to change. But how to I reach those people who have the right attitude, network and insight to join forces in their comfort zone? It became clear to me that time was ready to make my book, practical methods, models, views etc available to the rest of the world. It is my sincere desire that the contribution to humanity would help to accelerate processes around the world and avoid that many people would have to “re-invent the wheel”.

So it happened that I decided that my own adventurous life to discover how to proceed did not just belong to me but to everyone. My writing I make available to the world totally free of charge. Not because I do not need the money, on the contrary, but because I feel that the process of the Global Shift and our chances together are much more important than trying to promote an article. I hope with this that the transformation gains momentum and in this movement I can fullfil my role of co-responsible for permanent change.

If one day I can look at my daughters and see that they have a sustainable future then I am satisfied and happy that I have been able to contribute just that little bit that made it happen, just like they and so many others hopefully do to make it last for ever.

Today (13.06.2011) I made available the very first chapter. Every sunday a new chapter will be released for about 20 sundays in a row. The only thing I ask you is to send me an email. For me it is important to develop a network of people who are worried, curious or interested. Among you we will find surely enough people to take co-responsibility too for the global shift in your own direct environment.